There are quite a few Lions who are attempting to come back from poor 2020 campaigns, especially on the defensive side of the ball. That makes choosing the top bounce-back candidate for 2021 in Detroit a tougher task than it is for a lot of NFL teams.
Pro Football Focus landed on safety Tracy Walker as the Lions’ best bounce-back candidate. Walker is a smart choice, based on how horribly misuses he was in Matt Patricia’s defense in 2020 and his proven track record of being one of the NFL’s best young safeties in the two prior seasons.
As a rookie in 2018, Walker starred as a small-sample darling before breaking out as a full-time starter in 2019. Those first two years combined for an 82.5 PFF grade, ranking 12th among safeties with at least 1,000 snaps in that span. Things went sharply downhill last season. Walker was tasked with playing closer to the line of scrimmage as opposed to free safety where he was at his best. When looking solely at those reps in 2018 and 2019, he jumps to third at the position in PFF grade. A bounce-back could be in order as Walker will get back to playing deep in 2021.
In new coordinator Aaron Glenn’s scheme, Walker is playing in a split-safety look that allows him to align much deeper. That plays to his strengths and affords him many more playmaking opportunities.
Walker would be our choice as well, though linebacker Jamie Collins, EDGE Trey Flowers, right guard Halapoulivaati Vaitai and cornerback Amani Oruwariye are also worthy candidates to have strong rebound seasons under the new Dan Campbell regime.
